It will be appreciated that in many applications, various products are sold in bulk form to the consuming public, such as in bins or the like, which permits the consumer to purchase any desired quantity of the product from the bulk container. This is especially true in connection with food products, since many food products are still sold in bulk form in order to permit the consumer to purchase a small quantity of the product contained in bulk form. For example, products such as fruits and vegetables, nuts, candies, and the like are often contained within a bin, permitting the user to then obtain a receptacle such as a bag or the like, and to withdraw from the container such portion of the product as the consumer wishes to purchase.
It has become necessary however, to insure the sterility of the product, and to further prevent unauthorized tampering with a product contained in the bin, in view of the fact that food and drug tampering has now become a serious problem. One solution to the problem has been to take product typically sold in bulk form and bins, and to package the same in certain weight formats, the product being pre-packaged by the vendor thereof. Hence, it is well known that food products such as potatoes, tomatoes, candies, and the like are now pre-packaged in certain weight formats, which permits the consumer to purchase only those packages of the designated weight. However, it is still deemed to be desirable to provide the consumer with the option of purchasing any desired weight format of a product available in bulk form, with the consumer selecting the particular product weight which he wishes to purchase. Hence, the problem of maintaining the sterility and product integrity of the product in bulk form when contained in a bin has not been addressed.
The present invention is intended to provide a system whereby any product may still be contained in the bulk format, and contained within a bin, permitting the consumer to purchase any desired weight quantity thereof, while still maintaining product sterility and integrity. In addition, the present invention is intended to provide the vendor with the means to easily verify and confirm that the product integrity is maintained at all times.
In terms of prior art type devices, sealed containers are generally known, but usually in connection with scientific apparatus. In such applications, the sealed container is intended to provide a controlled atmospheric environment for the conducting of an experiment, or otherwise working with dangerous materials. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,903 is directed to a controlled environment work enclosure wherein dangerous materials may be handled by the user by inserting his hands through openings provided in the container, the openings being sealed by appropriate barriers containing flexible gloves such that the user may simply insert his hands through the barrier into the gloves, and then gain access to the materials to be manipulated.
Similar comments are applicable with respect to the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,753, wherein there is disclosed an anaerobic incubator which in effect provides a controlled atmospheric apparatus wherein the user gains access, once again, through a pair of sealed barriers providing rubber gloves within the interior confines of the container such that the user may insert his hands therethrough, and manipulate the items to be worked with within the interior confines of the container.
With respect to food products, U.S. Pat. No. 2,039,490 shows an apparatus for peeling vegetables wherein the operator may insert his hands through a pair of openings provided in the container, although it will be noted that this device does not provide a sterile or tamperproof enclosure since the purpose of the bellows through which the user places his hands is merely to retain the peelings from the vegetables within the container, and therefore, sterility is not maintained.
Other similar devices are shown in the prior art, but as indicated previously, such devices have as their intention, the maintenance of a controlled environment within the container, totally sealed off from the external atmosphere, with limited access provided only for the purpose of manipulating items within the container.
The present invention is intended to provide a sealed container which provides limited access by the user thereof to the interior confines of the container in order to obtain and withdraw a portion of a product contained therein in bulk form, such that an exit pathway must be provided in order to withdraw the product from the container.